U.S. Becomes Second-Largest Spanish-Speaking Country, Report Reveals

U.S. Becomes Second-Largest Spanish-Speaking Country, Report Reveals

The United States has officially become the second-largest Spanish-speaking country in the world, with over 57 million speakers, surpassing Spain and trailing only Mexico, which has approximately 130 million Spanish speakers.

This finding comes from the latest report, "Spanish: A Living Language 2024," authored by Professor David Fernández of the University of Alcalá and published by the Instituto Cervantes. The study highlights the rapid growth of Spanish speakers in the U.S. and globally, with over 600 million people now communicating in the language.

Interestingly, while Spanish studies are expanding across Europe, enrollment in Spanish courses at U.S. higher education institutions has been on the decline. However, demographic projections suggest that the total number of Spanish speakers worldwide will peak at around 682 million by 2066 before experiencing a gradual decrease.